Why Is Carlos Ghosn Afraid of the Japanese Justice System?

February 04, 2020

Center Executive Director Nobuhisa Ishizuka explored this question in a recent opinion article in the New York Times.

Tokyo Ministry of Justice

Why Is Carlos Ghosn Afraid of the Japanese Justice System? Center Executive Director Nobuhisa Ishizuka explored this question in a recent opinion article in the New York Times. Titled "The Carlos Ghosn Case Puts Japan's Legal System on Trial," the article examined the differences between Japanese and Western legal systems and broke down Japan's high conviction rate in criminal cases. Japan's legal system has come under significant scrutiny for its handling of the imprisonment of former Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn, who recently fled to Lebanon while awaiting trial. Read the Article

 

...When discussing the Ghosn case, the two sides of the Japanese reform debate talk past each other. For Western commentators, the Japanese system deserves as much scrutiny as the defendant's guilt or innocence. For the Japanese, Mr. Ghosn's conduct is itself the central issue, quite apart from his guilt or innocence

Nobuhisa Ishizuka

BBC Coverage

An interview with Mr. Ishizuka was conducted by Fergus Nicoll of BBC World Service about the Carlos Ghosn case in an episode of Business Matters that aired on January 23, 2020. 

Listen to the Episode (Mr. Ishizuka's interview starts at 00:26:30)